Inside the Phillies with MLB.com beat writer Todd Zolecki

Halladay on Trade Deadline and Hamels

Roy Halladay rejoined the rotation last night in a 3-2 victory over the Dodgers.

Here is what he said after the game, commenting on his performance, the trade deadline and Cole Hamels‘ future with the Phillies:

Question: How did you feel?
Halladay: Good. I feel like each time it’s getting a little bit better. Consistency, there’s still some mechanical things that I just want to be able to repeat better. But I felt good. I think things were improved from the rehab start. Yeah, I want to go deeper, so once I get the pitch count up that’ll be nice. Overall, I was happy with pitch execution. I obviously felt good. That hasn’t been an issue since I’ve started throwing. It’s just a matter of repeating mechanics. I feel like it’s come along pretty well.

Question: Has this been tough to watch while you’ve been on the DL? Do you think you can help?
Halladay: One guy isn’t going to turn it around. I know they keep talking about Chase coming back and Ryan and me, but one guy’s not going to do it. We all need to chip in where we can. I think that’s important to look at it that way and realize that you’re not going to do it yourself. There’s not one guy that’s going to do it alone. It’s important to keep in mind. We need everybody. We’ve been playing better here. It’s positive for us so we want to keep that going as much as we can.

Question: Did you feel some urgency to come back because of the team’s situation?
Halladay: Yeah, but … it does and it doesn’t have to do with our situation. I want to get back and I want to help our team, but I think I would have felt that urgency one way or the other. Again, it’s being smart. I feel good and I feel like I can contribute. If I didn’t I wouldn’t have tried to pitch. If I felt like was going to go out there and be a detriment to the team I would have gone and pitched more. I feel like I can go out and be competitive, and give us a chance. Anybody who competes wants to be out there regardless. I don’t care if you’re 15 up in the standings or 15 down. You want to be out there and contribute. You definitely think about it, but I think I would have thought the same if we were up.

Question: Is it tough to hear the talk about the potential trades when you’re not able to help?
Halladay: Yeah, it’s definitely hard. It’s an organization that has been committed to winning and you want to see that continue and obviously there are points where they may have to reconsider how they’re going to go about that, but I hope that’s long after I’m gone to be honest with you. You want to have every chance you can to try to win. It’s tough having a trade deadline and being at the point we’re in. It puts the pressure on the front office. But I don’t think any of us have given up on it, and I know they haven’t in the front office. It’s a tough situation where you can’t always continue to go down the same path if things aren’t working. And if you have to make some changes and do some different things we understand that, but as players you want to give yourself a chance to win and try to avoid those situations.

Question: You’re still 10 under. Why is it realistic to think you can still make the playoffs?
Halladay: It’s baseball. I think anything can happen. We saw what happened last year with Atlanta and St. Louis getting in and going all the way to win the World Series. I mean, it’s happened before. It’s going to be difficult. There’s a long ways to go and it’s a steep hill to climb, but I think there’s got to be a positive mentality and especially when you have the players we have. It’s not like we have players that can’t compete and can’t win. We have those players here. It’s just a matter of going out and being able to do it and give ourselves a chance, but you look at the way baseball has gone the last few years. There’s definitely a chance. I don’t think there’s any reason to believe there wouldn’t be.

Question: Would you ever lobby Ruben not to trade some key pieces?
Halladay: I think he’s aware how a lot of guys feel. As a player there are certain lines you don’t cross. He understands you want to win and you want to have the guys here to do that. But by the same token he’s the GM. I’m a player. I respect his position, but he knows. He knows that we want to keep Cole and Victorino. He knows that.

Question: Do you have a gut feeling how Cole is going to work out?
Halladay: No, I don’t. He’s put himself in a position to be able to take care of his family. He has a right to do that. I’d like to see him do it here. I know there may have to be concessions on both sides, but hopefully they get close enough to do that. Honestly, I don’t have a feeling one way or the other and I don’t know if he does either to be honest with you. It’s a ways away.

Question: Does he discuss it with you?
Halladay: Yeah, we talk about it, but it’s nothing different than what he’s told you guys. He wants to be here, but once they get to the point where they’re under the gun then I think things start happening a little bit. At this point it’s getting close to that, and I think when it does I think push comes to shove he wants to be here. I think he’s willing to do what he can to be here, and I think the organization feels the same, but it’s hard to tell from both sides at this point.

Like this:

LikeLoading...

Related

28 Comments

How profound. Roy proclaims “One guy isn’t going to turn it around”. We know this, particularly if he is the guy. He goes on, “We all need to chip in”, which begs the question, “Roy, when are you going to start chipping in”?. Roy needs to bone up on the concept of synergy.

I don’t know how 1 pitcher can make that much of a difference. But I do know that, since Halladay went down, the Phillies have the second worst record in MLB, and this is their first four game winning streak since the one that ended the day he got shut down. Coincidence?

Ugh, what do you fools expect him to say? He has to answer the questions, if he said “no comment” you’d be making even more ridiculous comments. He’s a professional and gave professional answers. The meat of the story is about Cole.

pherris, feeling weary and small? Trying to validate your lack of baseball acumen by complaining about anything anybody else has to say? BTW, Chuck LaMar references won’t get it done, especially when you don’t even know what his job was. That may work when you troll the Braves board, but there are actually people here who have a clue.
Roy Halladay doesn’t make a difference? Got it.

Pope, getting your holy ass up in the air or what? That is some heavy lifting if not levitation, to get that mass so high. You wrote: “I don’t know how one pitcher can make that much of a difference”. Did you not? Oh, I get it now, the broad brush you usually pontificate with was a little too broad in this case. But here is my problem, your nose is usually so far up Roy Halladay’s ass that I have a difficult time determining where Roy’s ass ends and your your nose begins. Acumen – fancy word for a little man, I mean mind..

Pope, you still haven’t answered the question you raised by your bloviating here on numerous occasions. To wit: You claim you do not know how one pitcher can make a difference, the clear implication being if the Pope doesn’t than it ain’t so, yet you think Halladay is the second coming. What say you, Your Holiness?

Just read a bullshit piece about the Phillies offering Hamels $130 million for 6 years which had to mention that it would be the longest contract ever given by the Phillies to a pitcher. So what? Hamels is only in his year 28 season. The sixth year would be his year 34 season and a seventh year only be his year 35 season. Just offer him $150 million for 7 years or lets just move on. Junior, this ain’t no checker match.

Could Cliff Lee be heading back to Texas? Have not heard of direct link. But his name is starting to pop up in “rumors” of availability. With his contract settled for several years, he should command more “fungibles” than Hamels and, dare I say riper ones at that. While a “fungible” is a “fungible”, even the Holy See ought to recognize some “fungibles” are riper than others.

Still say, give Hamels 10 yrs at 200 with both sides having a vesting option after yr 6. If Cole has hit 200 innings in 4 of 6 years, and has hit other stats then he gets 4 more, if not, contract voids out.

Interesting. Steve Carlton was productive through age 38 season, at least, the same season Hamels will have completed with a ten year contract. This would have not even been a problem if Ruin Tomorrow, Jr. had not screwed the pooch so hard and so often.

Meta

The following are trademarks or service marks of Major League Baseball entities and may be used only with permission of Major League Baseball Properties, Inc. or the relevant Major League Baseball entity: Major League, Major League Baseball, MLB, the silhouetted batter logo, World Series, National League, American League, Division Series, League Championship Series, All-Star Game, and the names, nicknames, logos, uniform designs, color combinations, and slogans designating the Major League Baseball clubs and entities, and their respective mascots, events and exhibitions.